Is GOP failing own test in Bay State Senate race?

A mysterious new outside group just placed a $700,000 ad buy in support of Gomez. But multiple sources say that despite saying they’re monitoring the races, the two major GOP-leaning outside groups — Crossroads and Americans for Prosperity — are not planning to get involved. No one wants to ask donors — who are already wary and feeling snake-bit after the massive sums spent in vain by outside groups in 2012 — to help elect Gomez.

The groups are concerned about being tied to a losing campaign now — or, if Gomez pulls off an upset, about the strong possibility he would be ousted next year in a general election, as Scott Brown was.

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“No one wants to elect the next Bob Turner,” said one source familiar with the moves by the two groups, referring to the Republican from New York City who won a special election for Anthony Weiner’s former congressional seat — only to lose a bid for Senate a year later.

Yet most donors — and GOP officials — privately say they don’t think Gomez has a chance of even making it as far as Turner did.

Markey, meanwhile, who chased Gomez in vain for weeks to sign a pledge discouraging outside spending, is now benefiting mightily from outside groups. The Senate Majority PAC has extended its ad buy, and the total outside group and committee spending will very likely top $2 million on his side. Gomez, who has struggled with fundraising, is nowhere near that.

One Republican strategist who has worked on Massachusetts races said that the RNC and NRSC have traditionally done last-minute influxes of phone banks and volunteers, and a late move here would be consistent with that — even if it is not consistent with the goals of becoming what RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has called a 50-state party.

Still, for all the shiny-object qualities of a special election in a blue state, Republicans who analyzed the failings of the 2012 race believe the party needs to start competing harder, everywhere, as officials often say they plan to.

“We do have to compete,” said Glenn McCall, who was on the autopsy committee with Barbour. “We just can’t be a red-state/blue-state party. We have to compete in every state.”

He added that emails have already gone out asking for volunteers from the Northeast to help.

“Our impediment is that we have not campaigned in blue states enough, instead of having a consistent ground game and being in communities throughout the year,” he said. “That is important to us to grow our party — not only at the national level but even at the state and local level.”